常见常用法律英语词汇笺注(修订稿).pdf

常见常用法律英语词汇笺注(修订稿) 天涯网友 春风秋水  【按】余翻阅西文法律报刊书籍之时，凡有不知者、可疑者，则笔而记之。为日既久， 得百数词。遂求诸中西著述，抉其可否，溯厥源流，加以疏证而明通之。余以所见未能精确， 现帖之于网络，望诸君子有以教我。 　　 1、 a fortiori——更加 　　 prep. Latin for with even stronger reason, which applies to a situation in which if one thing is true then it can be inferred that a second thing is even more certainly true. Thus, if Abel is too young to serve as administrator, then his younger brother Cain certainly is too young. 　　 【注】a fortiori （更加），系拉丁语，意为“有更充分的理由” 。 　　 　　 2 、A mensa et thoro——法定分居 　　 A mensa et thoro is a Latin term meaning from table and bed which became used in English as from bed and board. 　 　 A kind of divorce which does not dissolve the marriage bond, but merely authorizes a separate life of the husband and wife. Neither spouse has the right to remarry where there is a divorce a mensa et thoro; only parties who have been awarded a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, the more common type of divorce, can do so. 　　 【注】即一种不解散婚姻关系的离婚。处于此种状态的配偶均不得再婚。 　　 　　 3、A vinculo matrimonii——解除婚姻、离婚 　　literally from the bond of marriage. Such a divorce generally enables the parties to marry again. 　　 【注】意为“解除婚姻关系” 。 　　 　　 4 、Ab initio—— 自始无效 　　 [Latin, From the beginning; from the first act; from the inception.] 。An agreement is said to be “void ab initio （自始无效）” if it has at no time had any legal validity. The illegality of the conduct or the revelation of the real facts makes the entire situation illegal ab initio (from the beginning), not just from the time the wrongful behavior occurs. 　　 【注】形容事件由开始时的状态，例如合约从开始便已经无效，称为“The contract was void ab initio” 。 　　 『笺』“ 自始无效” （void ab initio ）是一项合同法律关系中广泛运用的制度，它的意 义在于，一旦某个合同或某项合同条款因违反法律或公共秩序而被宣告无效，那么宣告无效 的效力将上溯到合同签订的那一刻起，即合同自始都是无效的。如果合同已部分履行，那么 被宣告自始无效的合同的已履行部分将被恢复原状，回到合同履行前的状态。自始无效是一 项古老的法律制度，它对于保护无效合同中善意当事人一方的利益具有极其现实的意义。 　　 一般而言，合同的无效都是指自始无效。合同的无效要和合同的“撤销”区别开来，“撤 销”指的是合同自撤销一刻起丧失效力，而“无效”则是自始无效，经撤销的合同在撤销前的 履行行